16th parallel north
# 16th parallel north

The 16th parallel north is a circle of latitude that is 16 degrees north of the Earth's equatorial plane. It crosses Africa, Asia, the Indian Ocean, the Pacific Ocean, Central America, the Caribbean and the Atlantic Ocean.

At this latitude the sun is visible for 13 hours, 5 minutes during the summer solstice and 11 hours, 11 minutes during the winter solstice.

## As a dividing line

After World War II, the parallel divided Vietnam into Chinese military administration in the north and the British in the south (See Timeline of World War II (1945) and War in Vietnam (1945-1946)).

In the Chadian–Libyan conflict, from 1984 the parallel, known as the "Red Line", delineated areas controlled by opposing combatants. Previously the Red Line had been the 15th parallel north. (See also Operation Manta.)

## Around the world

Starting at the Prime Meridian and heading eastwards, the parallel 16° north passes through:

    Co-ordinates Country, territory or sea Notes 16°0′N 0°0′E﻿ / ﻿16.000°N 0.000°E﻿ / 16.000; 0.000﻿ (Prime Meridian)  Mali 16°0′N 4°0′E﻿ / ﻿16.000°N 4.000°E﻿ / 16.000; 4.000﻿ (Niger)  Niger 16°0′N 14°39′E﻿ / ﻿16.000°N 14.650°E﻿ / 16.000; 14.650﻿ (Chad)  Chad 16°0′N 24°0′E﻿ / ﻿16.000°N 24.000°E﻿ / 16.000; 24.000﻿ (Sudan)  Sudan 16°0′N 36°50′E﻿ / ﻿16.000°N 36.833°E﻿ / 16.000; 36.833﻿ (Eritrea)  Eritrea 16°0′N 39°16′E﻿ / ﻿16.000°N 39.267°E﻿ / 16.000; 39.267﻿ (Red Sea) Red Sea 16°0′N 40°3′E﻿ / ﻿16.000°N 40.050°E﻿ / 16.000; 40.050﻿ (Eritrea)  Eritrea Island of Nahaleg 16°0′N 40°5′E﻿ / ﻿16.000°N 40.083°E﻿ / 16.000; 40.083﻿ (Red Sea) Red Sea 16°0′N 42°49′E﻿ / ﻿16.000°N 42.817°E﻿ / 16.000; 42.817﻿ (Yemen)  Yemen 16°0′N 52°10′E﻿ / ﻿16.000°N 52.167°E﻿ / 16.000; 52.167﻿ (Indian Ocean) Indian Ocean Arabian Sea 16°0′N 73°29′E﻿ / ﻿16.000°N 73.483°E﻿ / 16.000; 73.483﻿ (India)  India Maharashtra Karnataka Andhra Pradesh Telangana 16°0′N 81°9′E﻿ / ﻿16.000°N 81.150°E﻿ / 16.000; 81.150﻿ (Indian Ocean) Indian Ocean Bay of Bengal 16°0′N 94°13′E﻿ / ﻿16.000°N 94.217°E﻿ / 16.000; 94.217﻿ (Myanmar)  Myanmar (Burma) Irrawaddy River delta 16°0′N 95°41′E﻿ / ﻿16.000°N 95.683°E﻿ / 16.000; 95.683﻿ (Indian Ocean) Indian Ocean Gulf of Martaban, Andaman Sea 16°0′N 97°35′E﻿ / ﻿16.000°N 97.583°E﻿ / 16.000; 97.583﻿ (Myanmar)  Myanmar (Burma) 16°0′N 98°36′E﻿ / ﻿16.000°N 98.600°E﻿ / 16.000; 98.600﻿ (Thailand)  Thailand 16°0′N 105°25′E﻿ / ﻿16.000°N 105.417°E﻿ / 16.000; 105.417﻿ (Laos)  Laos 16°0′N 107°27′E﻿ / ﻿16.000°N 107.450°E﻿ / 16.000; 107.450﻿ (Vietnam)  Vietnam Passing just south of Da Nang 16°0′N 108°16′E﻿ / ﻿16.000°N 108.267°E﻿ / 16.000; 108.267﻿ (South China Sea) South China Sea Passing through the disputed Paracel Islands 16°0′N 119°45′E﻿ / ﻿16.000°N 119.750°E﻿ / 16.000; 119.750﻿ (Philippines)  Philippines Island of Luzon 16°0′N 121°39′E﻿ / ﻿16.000°N 121.650°E﻿ / 16.000; 121.650﻿ (Pacific Ocean) Pacific Ocean Philippine Sea Passing just south of the island of Farallon de Medinilla, Northern Mariana Islands into an unnamed part of the Ocean 16°0′N 97°50′W﻿ / ﻿16.000°N 97.833°W﻿ / 16.000; -97.833﻿ (Mexico)  Mexico 16°0′N 95°24′W﻿ / ﻿16.000°N 95.400°W﻿ / 16.000; -95.400﻿ (Pacific Ocean) Pacific Ocean Gulf of Tehuantepec 16°0′N 93°59′W﻿ / ﻿16.000°N 93.983°W﻿ / 16.000; -93.983﻿ (Mexico)  Mexico 16°0′N 91°46′W﻿ / ﻿16.000°N 91.767°W﻿ / 16.000; -91.767﻿ (Guatemala)  Guatemala 16°0′N 89°13′W﻿ / ﻿16.000°N 89.217°W﻿ / 16.000; -89.217﻿ (Belize)  Belize 16°0′N 88°54′W﻿ / ﻿16.000°N 88.900°W﻿ / 16.000; -88.900﻿ (Caribbean Sea) Caribbean Sea Passing just north of Punta de Manabique, Guatemala Passing just south of the island of Útila, Honduras 16°0′N 85°58′W﻿ / ﻿16.000°N 85.967°W﻿ / 16.000; -85.967﻿ (Honduras)  Honduras 16°0′N 85°53′W﻿ / ﻿16.000°N 85.883°W﻿ / 16.000; -85.883﻿ (Caribbean Sea) Caribbean Sea Passing just north of Cape Camarón, Honduras 16°0′N 61°44′W﻿ / ﻿16.000°N 61.733°W﻿ / 16.000; -61.733﻿ (France)  France Island of Basse-Terre, Guadeloupe 16°0′N 61°35′W﻿ / ﻿16.000°N 61.583°W﻿ / 16.000; -61.583﻿ (Atlantic Ocean) Atlantic Ocean 16°0′N 61°17′W﻿ / ﻿16.000°N 61.283°W﻿ / 16.000; -61.283﻿ (France)  France Island of Marie-Galante, Guadeloupe 16°0′N 61°15′W﻿ / ﻿16.000°N 61.250°W﻿ / 16.000; -61.250﻿ (Atlantic Ocean) Atlantic Ocean 16°0′N 22°55′W﻿ / ﻿16.000°N 22.917°W﻿ / 16.000; -22.917﻿ (Cape Verde)  Cape Verde Island of Boa Vista 16°0′N 22°46′W﻿ / ﻿16.000°N 22.767°W﻿ / 16.000; -22.767﻿ (Atlantic Ocean) Atlantic Ocean 16°0′N 16°30′W﻿ / ﻿16.000°N 16.500°W﻿ / 16.000; -16.500﻿ (Senegal)  Senegal 16°0′N 13°22′W﻿ / ﻿16.000°N 13.367°W﻿ / 16.000; -13.367﻿ (Mauritania)  Mauritania 16°0′N 5°24′W﻿ / ﻿16.000°N 5.400°W﻿ / 16.000; -5.400﻿ (Cape Verde)  Mali
